The Atlantis Chronicles 2: Picking up the Pieces
by USSExplorer
Summary: Following the destruction of the Atlantis during the battle of the Ionian Nebula, the Terrans now find themselves stranded aboard the Battlestar Galactica, even as a plague spreads among the Galactica's crew.
1. Previously

Previously:

The Crew of the starship _Atlantis_ ventured forth from their home-world in search of answers to the questions that had plagued their world for nearly fifty years; 'Who were they?' and 'Why did they attack?'' Now they have some answers but hundreds of new questions.

Following a catastrophic failure of their FTL engines, they found themselves tens of thousands of light years from their home-world, sandwiched between to mighty fleets.

In the ensuing battle between the great fleets and the _Atlantis_, their ship was destroyed and now the survivors find themselves among their long-lost cousins aboard the last of a great fleet of warships, the Battlestar _Galactica_.


	2. 1

"" for colonial speech

for Terran speech

1.

Starbuck stood up as the Admiral entered the brig. "I wondered when you'd finally come back down here." She said, smiling fondly at the man she regarded as her father.

Adama kept his neutral expression but she could see the twinkle in his eyes as he stared at her. They pair stood there looking at each other for a minute before Adama finally broke the silence.

"What do you hear?"

"Nothing but the rain."

"Then grab your gun and bring in the cat."

"Boom, boom, boom."

Adama allowed a broad smile to spread across his face. "Welcome home Kara."

Starbuck felt her heart skip a beat as it jumped into her throat. "It's," she paused as she tried to regain control of her feelings. "It's good to be back."

Adama pulled a chair in-front of the brig and indicated for her to sit on the chair in her cell. He spent a little while staring at her before he spoke to her again. "You've been away for quite some time."

Starbuck gave him a sheepish grin as she replied. "Sorry sir, but I've got a whale of a story to tell you."

"I'm listening."

"One thing first," she leaned closer to the bars. "Do you know the name of their ship in our language?"

Adama gave a quick shake of his head. "No, in their tongue it's call the _Atlantis _but I don't know what it is in ours but something tells me you do."

Starbuck gave him one for her all-knowing smiles, the kind he'd missed for the last several weeks. She leaned in as close as she could to him and whispered, almost conspiratorially. "It was called the _Atlantis_."

Adama took only a split second to place the name, "As in the City of the Gods?" Starbuck only smiled at him with that smile of hers. "How do you know this?"

"This is gonna take a while and it's gonna sound a little strange but," she said as she leaned back into her chair. "It all started right after my Viper exploded in the storm…..

---

Tigh stared over at the Raptor as it came into the bay. "This is a bad idea."

"Major Adama suggested it to the Admiral and he concurred," said Tyrol as the pair walked over to the Raptor as it was pulled into a spare maintenance bay. "We need someone to handle the translations here and he's the only one that can do it."

"It's how he knows our language that worries me."

Tyrol turned his gaze from the Raptor to Tigh as an idea shot through his brain. "You think he's a Cylon?" he asked quietly, so only Tigh could hear.

Tigh sighed heavily as the Raptor door started to open. "I hope not, and yet, I hope he is, it would allow us to answer some questions."

Any idea what that's about? Asked Shockwave as he watched the Raptor land as Tigh and Tyrol started to walk towards it.

Dragon gave a slight shake of his head. Not a clue, he stood up and started to walk towards the Raptor. But let's find out.

The pair watched as one suited figure helped another out of the Raptor. The two figures turned over to Tigh and Tyrol and, after a brief conversation, one of figures turned to face them.

Well I'll be dammed, muttered Orion as he smiled from behind the helmet-visor. I figured you'd gone and gotten yourself killed.

With speed belying his mass, Dragon closed the distance between himself and his friend and hoisted him of the ground in a bear-hug. Speak for yourself, I plan to live forever. He released Orion and stood back to examine the suit that his friend was wearing. You're out of uniform.

Orion smiled and gave Dragon a quick, but sharp salute. Sorry, my uniform's in about a hundred pieces in their med-bay. Once we get back to Earth, I'll make sure to get a new one.

Artemis? Dragon asked cautiously, afraid of the receiving the bad news he was expecting.

Orion gave him a quick smile. Alive but unconscious, their doc isn't sure when she'll wake up but, knowing her, it'll be when she's damm good and ready.

Dragon cast a quick glance at the Colonials before turning back to face his friend. So what can you tell me about these people?

Orion tired to wipe the smile from his face as he answered. You owe me fifty credits. He barely had time to duck as Dragon's fist swept through the air where his face had been.

You knew didn't you? Dragon asked as Shockwave moved off to check on the occupants of the shuttle, deciding not to get involved in the argument. This has something to do with all this, doesn't it? He pulled the piece of paper, covered in the strange writing, from his flight-suit's pocket.

Orion lunged for the paper, in mild shock the Dragon even had it, Give me that!

Dragon scrunched the paper up in his hands as he shifted into a defensive posture. You knew! You smeghead!!

Orion began to move to get the paper.

"Everything alright?" asked Apollo, who now stood close-by with Tigh and Showboat.

Orion took a split second to compose himself before he answered, "Fine, just having a disagreement with my crewmate."

"That's Kobolian!" remarked Showboat in disbelief as she pointed intently at the crunched up bit of paper in Dragon's hand.

"You can read it?" remarked Orion a little sceptically.

Showboat nodded. "My mother was a priestess, she taught me to read the ancient scripts."

"Give me a moment," Orion said before quickly turning back to Dragon.

The three Colonial officers watched as the pair engaged in a heated argument over the paper.

"I wonder what is so important about that piece of paper?" Apollo asked to no-one in particular.

"Maybe it has the names of the final five Cylons on it," joked Showboat, as both pilots missed the nervous expression that shot over Tigh's face, only to vanish a split second later. "Or maybe it's a really good recipe for ambrosia."

Apollo laughed at the second statement. "We should be so lucky. Any more of Tyrol's moonshine or Joe's 'Special Brew' and I don't think I'll be able to fly Vipers."

"He's says he'll only give it up if she agrees to go on a date with him once we've sorted out this mess." said Orion as he interrupted their little conversation.

Tigh shook his head in irritation as Apollo choked as he tried to not to laugh and Showboat turned crimson red in embarrassment.

"So do we have a deal?" asked Orion as he looked at the three Colonial officers with a smirk on his face.

Both Tigh and Apollo turned to Showboat who was getting more embarrassed with each passing second. She barely managed to give a fractional nod of her head before Hotdog and Tyrol walked over to see what was going on.

Orion turned back to Dragon and gave him the thumbs up. Dragon tried to control the smile that was now plastered to his face as he handed the scrap of paper to Orion, who in turn passed it to Showboat.

After she'd taken a few seconds to regain her composure she examined the paper. "It's a little strange," she started. "Some of the characters don't quite match with what I remember but, as best as I can follow, it reads; 'and the Lords of Olympus proclaimed that those of the lost colony would meet their brethren at the crossroads and begin their final journey. Though it would not be easy, the two groups would be lead by the chosen of the twin Lords and, in the end, all the tribes of man would become one, Pythia.'

Olympus? Shockwave muttered, upon hearing the only word he recognised.

Orion turned to him and Dragon and gave them as best a translation as he could as the Colonials debated the message.

"Pythia?" started Apollo, "as in the scrolls of Pythia?"

Showboat gave a slight nod as she carefully handed the paper to Tigh. "I think so, according to legend she chronicled the exodus of the thirteenth tribe when they left Kobol in the early days."

"But she lived long before the first exodus on Kobol," stated Tyrol, "how could her writings appear on Earth?"

Tigh turned from the group as they discussed the note and watched the Terran group.

Lords of Olympus? asked Dragon sceptically. Don't they mean the Gods of Olympus?

Orion shrugged a little at the question, I'm doing the best I can ok. I don't understand all of their words but that's clearly what I heard. Anyway the name at the end, Pythia, seemed to be important to them.

Pythia? all three pilots turned as one to stare at Stavros.

You recognise it Petty Officer? asked Dragon.

Yes sir, she answered. In ancient Greece, during the worship of the ancient Gods, the head priestess of the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi was called the Pythia.

Is it possible that the name has the same meaning here? asked an increasingly sceptical Dragon.

Orion shrugged as he pondered the idea, It's possible, much of their religion seems to mirror that of ancient Greece. He turned to face Stavros. Could the Lords of Olympus be the major gods?

It would make sense sir. She paused momentarily as a revelation hit her, The twin Lords! That must be Apollo and Artemis, they were the only twins among the major Gods.

The chosen of the twin Lords, stated Dragon as he and the other Terrans turned to look at Orion. James, just how did you get your call-sign?

The commandant of the CTTC gave it to me after my first month there.

Shockwave whistled, Man, the Command and Tactical Training Centre is a bastard to get into, only the top twenty pilots each year get in there. he looked down at Orion's wings and noticed the silver edging indicating a CTTC graduate. Where'd you place?

Who was the commandant at the time? Dragon asked, cutting of Shockwave's question.

Admiral Jackson, that's how I got chosen for the Cobra test program, said Orion as he answered the second question. He told me it was because I set the record for accuracy on the simulators at the academy.

Makes sense, remarked Shockwave, a little annoyed that his question hadn't been answered. Orion was a famous hunter.

I think there's more to it than just that, stated Dragon as he racked his brain for something he'd been told long ago. The Admiral's call-sign was Poseidon and your grandfather's is Zeus. He paused as he tried to remember something else but couldn't remember what he wanted. What about your father?

He was called Hermes, said Orion with a slight smile. Though he wasn't the son of Zeus.

Shockwave stared from Dragon to Orion then back again, sure he was missing a private joke. So what's that all mean?

Dragon turned to face him, According to legend, Orion had no mother but three fathers, the gods Zeus, Poseidon and Hermes.

Shockwave started to say something only to be cut off by Apollo.

"Sorry to bother you but, has anyone from your crew experienced any signs of illness."

Orion talked quickly with his friends then turned to face Apollo. "Nope, a couple are scared and worried but, given what's happened, that's not surprising. Why?"

"Almost all of the crew members in this bay are showing signs of disease. Our doctors are working to find a cure but they're having problems as it doesn't match anything they've ever seen before."

Orion looked over the bay and noticed how many of the _Galactica's _crew were sitting or lying down. Most looked fine but some were coughing heavily. "Ok, I'll see if we have any doctors or medical equipment onboard."

Apollo nodded slightly. "Thanks, also our doctors would like to take blood samples from your crew here then compare it to yours and Artemis' to see if they show any signs of the disease."

"No problem, just give me a minute to talk to the others."

Apollo gave Orion a slight nod as he turned and walked back over to Tigh.

"Well?" asked Tigh, his mood getting progressively worse as the situation deteriorated.

"They'll allow the blood samples," answered Apollo, which seemed to clam Tigh slightly. "Also, if they've got any doctors or medical equipment onboard they should be able to help."

"Well that's a relief," muttered Cottle as he walked rather clumsily towards the pair because of the hazmat suit. "The sooner we solve this the sooner I can get out of this bloody suit."

"So what's wrong with the crew?" asked Tigh.

"It looks like some kind of influenza, but it's not one I'm familiar with and it's resisting all our standard meds. I hope they have some idea what it is or we could be looking at a disaster."

"How bad could it get?" asked Tyrol as he and Showboat walked towards them.

Cottle looked down at his clipboard before he answered. "So far every crew member that has contracted the disease has shown the same signs. A slight fever or cough in the first hour with the symptoms getting rapidly worse over the next hour. Soon after, they'll faint and fall into a coma. A couple of hours after that, they're internal organs will start to shut down, the order can be slightly different from patient to patient but the lungs, stomach and heart all seem to be affected." He paused as he collected his thoughts.

"And after that?" asked Showboat as she coughed slightly.

Cottle gave her a concerned stare as he answered. "So far anyone who's gotten to that stage is dead within ten minutes without external help. Even then, if we don't find a cure within the next hour we're looking at twenty or so deaths with another fifty in the following hour."

Showboat started to speak only to lose her balance.

"Easy there," said Cottle as he and Tyrol caught her. "How long have you been coughing?"

"About an hour," she replied shakily. "Guess that means I'm entering stage two." Her smile did nothing to hide the fear in her voice.

Two other pilots came over and started to carry her over to a makeshift bed at the other end of the bay.

The group shared a concerned stare as they watched her be carried away.

"How are you feeling Colonel?" Cottle asked as he watched Showboat being carried away. "You were the last one down here before the lockdown."

"All things considered, not too bad." replied Tigh. "I've got a slight fever and I could use a drink."

"You and me both," muttered Cottle, who then turned to Apollo. "Come on then, let's see if our guests have any doctors onboard."

Tyrol waited until no-one else was in earshot before he spoke. "You really got a fever?"

Tigh gave him a dead man's stare as he answered. "Of course not but if I don't say I have something then Cottle might get suspicious." Tigh looked over the bay and took in the large number of the crew who were showing various stages of the disease. "We should be the last ones to stand a chance of getting infected anyway so we're fine for now, but if Cottle isn't able to find a cure in the next couple of hours or once he fully examines Sam…." He left the statement hanging as both contemplated what would happen then.

---

Apollo watched as the Terran doctor, a man by the name of Walters, and Cottle tried discussing the disease with almost no success. Unfortunately, Orion had no idea about some of the medical terms that Cottle was asking him to translate, though truth be told, Apollo was having difficulty following Cottle as well, and it was his native language!

By sheer luck, Walters examined a blood sample for one of the deck crew and spotted the virus in question. From then on Cottle and Walters used images taken by Cottle and a portable computer that Walters had, to examine and compare the virus to Earth-based viruses. Earth, Apollo still couldn't believe that they'd found it and the people of Earth. Ok, they hadn't found them, more like the people of Earth had found the fleet and that bother him.

Actually a few thing bothered him; first was the chances that of all the places that the _Atlantis_ could appear, after an accidental jump, it appeared right between the fleet and the Cylons.

Second, the fact the survivors from the _Atlantis_ didn't speak anything close to Colonial, with the exception of Orion, and that was the biggest thing that worried him.

He watched as Orion talked with his crewmates and Apollo found himself contemplating an idea that scared him to his core, what if Orion was a Cylon?

-

Dragon also watched as Walters and Cottle looked from the Terran equipment to the Colonial stuff then back again. They seem a little apprehensive around computers, he remarked. I wonder why?

Orion was watched the two doctors but out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Apollo staring at him. I guess the Cylons have an edge in computer tech.

Dragon turned his attention to Orion at the comment. He watched his friend for a minute before he asked the question that was now buzzing round his head. Ok, spill. What do you know?

Orion turned to face his friend. It seems that this ship was once part of a fleet of one hundred and twenty Battlestars plus smaller ships.

Dragon whistled at the comment. A hundred and twenty of these things? Man that would have been one hell of a sight to see. He paused as he imagined it in his mind. So what happened?

The Cylons, near as I can figure from what I've been told, the Cylons attacked and in single day destroyed the entire Colonial fleet and their home worlds. These people are all that's left of a people of over twenty billion.

Glad they're not our enemy.

Actually, started Orion only for Dragon to cut him off.

The Cylons are looking for Earth aren't they? Orion gave a subtle nod as he watched Apollo walk over. This keeps getting better and better.

Orion leaned down and whispered in his friends' ear as he tried to keep the smile from his face. It gets even better, this ship was being decommissioned during the attack. She's over fifty years old.

Apollo watched as Dragon gave Orion a murderous look then trudged off towards the other survivors. "Is he alright?"

Orion watched his friend walk away with a smile on his face. "Yeah, he's just enjoying the scenery."

Apollo stared at Orion following the cryptic answer. "Come on, Admiral Adama wants you to meet someone."

"Who?"

"It's a surprise." answered Apollo as the pair climbed into a Raptor and began the slow flight around the _Galactica_ to the Starboard landing bay.


	3. 2

Sorry for the massive delay, the school where I work has lost a teacher so now I have to teach two subjects and struggle to find the time or energy to write.

I'll keep plugging away as best I can but I don't expect to finish Chapter 3 till the end of the month at best.

2.

"Hey, I told you it would be strange!" said Starbuck as Adama stared at her in either disbelief or complete denial. "I just need to find the bridge. I hope he wasn't killed by the Cylons."

Adama stared at her for a long time as he digested all that she'd just told him. "After hearing a story like that, I wouldn't believe a word that they'd said and have the person in question sent for a full physiological evaluation."

"So what about me?"

Adama stood and turned to face the brig door. "I still think you could do with seeing a shrink," he turned back to face her, the twinkle in his eyes evidence enough that he was considering it even as he gave her one of his fatherly smiles that warmed her heart. "But, I'm inclined to believe you."

Starbuck sighed in relief that the one person she needed to believe her did. "So what now?" she asked as he walked over to the small table near the brig door.

"Now, we take you to meet the bridge." he said as he opened her cell-door.

Starbuck stared at him in shock and relief. "He's here?"

Adama gave her a slight nod as they turned to exit the brig. "If I'm following all this correctly then yes, he's here and I know who _HE_ is."

* * *

Orion stumbled out of the Raptor, barely avoiding the roof, and slid down onto the deck.

"Easy there, don't want that suit to rip." said Apollo as he grabbed hold of Orion's arm to slow his descent.

Orion nodded his thanks as the pilot exited the Raptor. "Everything okay Apollo?"

"Yeah, we're fine Athena, thanks."

Orion turned and looked up at the small Asian-looking woman, who had just piloted the Raptor, as she removed her helmet. "Athena, God of Wisdom?"

Athena smiled at Orion, "Goddess actually, nice to meet you." Orion shook her hand and gave her a quizzical look.

He waited until she was out of earshot before he spoke to Apollo. "She seems a lot stronger than she looks."

Apollo smiled slightly as he answered. "Yeah, there's more to her than meets the eye." He didn't say anything more and Orion filed it away, hoping he could bring it up at a later time.

* * *

Roslin waited anxiously in the conference room. After Starbuck had told her story, Roslin had agreed with Adama on who the bridge was most likely to be.

She looked down at the notes in her hand, one was a copy of the text that the Terran pilot, Dragon, had brought with him, and the other was a note from Apollo about the Terran fighters of Artemis and Orion. She remembered the prophecy about the serpents numbered two and ten and the dying leader who would show the way to Earth and yet not live to reach it.

She clutched her breast as she thought that once more she was the destined leader, though Adama was having none of it. She suspected he'd move the heavens if he could to make sure she'd live to see Earth, but she was not worried. As long as the survivors made it, that was all that mattered.

She glanced over at Tory who seemed lost in her own thoughts. "You ok?"

Tory snapped out of her trance and looked at the President. "Yeah, just thinking about the outbreak in the landing bay, latest reports say that almost all the pilots and deck crew are showing signs of the disease." She handed the report to Roslin, while taking a second to glance at the notes Roslin already had. "We've now lost four pilots and six members of the deck crew."

"Plus, this would be the perfect time for a Cylon attack," remarked Roslin. "We could only launch what. One squadron of Vipers?"

"True, but the Cylons don't know that," said Tory a little self-consciously. "Besides, I'm sure they're busy trying to recover from the battle. They took a bad beating when they expected to destroy us easily."

Roslin sighed slightly. "True enough but what happens next time? I don't think we'll be getting any more help until we reach Earth and even then, if their fleet is not ready for the Cylons we could be witnessing another massacre."

"At this point, we must have faith that the Terrans will be ready." Roslin looked up at her aide and searched her face for something. "Madame President?"

Roslin shook her head softly as she turned back to her reports. "Nothing Tory, just curious where your new found faith has come from."

"I have faith in you and the Admiral ma'am. That's all the faith I need."

Roslin smiled at her and looked up at the door. "We'll find out soon enough if Earth is ready or if your faith has been misplaced."

* * *

Helo saluted as Adama walked on to the bridge.

"Report." said Adama as he returned the salute.

"Sir, Doctor Cottle reports that another three crew members have died from the disease but about ten percent of the crew seems to be either immune or is able to slow down the speed o the pathogen."

Adama rubbed the bridge of his nose, thankful that at least some would survive. "What about the Terrans?"

"They don't seem to be showing any signs of the disease, also their doctor recognises the pathogen, it's similar to something that spread on Earth about forty years ago, their time."

"Well, at least that's a start," said Adama as he walked over to the central displays. "How's the quarantine holding up?"

"So far so good," answered Helo as he looked over some reports. "The _Celestra_ is due for a water re-fill in ten hours but other than that, no ship is scheduled to dock with us today."

"Good, Helo I need you to come with me. Mister Gaeta, you have the conn." Adama turned and walked off the bridge with Helo close behind, curious what the Admiral needed him for.

* * *

Orion followed Apollo through the door and noticed four people sitting in front of him.

Adama stood and indicated for Orion to take the seat opposite from him as Apollo moved around to sit next to his father.

"Lieutenant Orion, I'd like for you to meet the President of the Twelve Colonies, Laura Roslin and her Vice President, Tom Zarek." At the introduction of Roslin and Zarek, Orion jumped to his feet and snapped to attention.

Adama and Roslin shared a smile before she stood. "There's no need for formality Lieutenant," she said as she extended her hand. "This is just a friendly get together."

Orion shook her hand and then sat down. "So what would you like to know?"

"Well first, I must congratulate you on how quickly you've been able to learn our language."

"Thank you madam President, I've always been good with languages. I just hope that the rest of my crewmates can learn in as quickly as I think we'll be here a long time."

Roslin gave him a grateful smile, "I'd say that's a possibility. First though, we'd like to know a little about Earth. How long have humans been living on Earth?"

"I'm not sure of an exactly time but, at least fifty thousand years." Orion noted the shocked looks shared by everyone else in the room. "Is something wrong?"

After taking a second to collect herself, Roslin answered. "No, nothing's wrong. It's just we hadn't expected such a large number." She turned and talked quietly with Adama and Zarek before she continued, "Can you tell us what happened four thousand and two thousand years ago."

Orion examined each of their faces as he mulled his answer, "Well I'm not a historian but, about four thousand years ago the most famous religion, from my area of Earth, was that of Ancient Greece. In that religion there was twelve major gods, Zeus, Apollo, Artemis and so-on." Roslin seemed happy with the answer, as though she was expecting it. "Actually, the language of this area is the closest Earth language to your own. Why is that?"

Roslin again conferred quietly with Adama and Zarek before she answered. "It seems that these Gods from your past are the Lords of Kobol. They are twelve Lords that our culture worships as Gods, they bare the same names as these ancient Gods." She paused and looked at Adama, who gave her the slightest of nods, before she continued. "Do your people still worship them?"

Orion shook his head, "No, their worship ceased about two thousand years ago. Nowadays most people either worship a single God, though there are differing interpretations of his words, or none at all." Orion watched the faces of the Colonials carefully as they took in what he said. "Is something wrong?"

Roslin gave fractional shake of her head, "No, we just expecting your people to still worship the Lords of Kobol in some form. Most of the people in the fleet worship them in some way." She cast a glance at Adama as she continued, "Though some chose not to worship any gods."

"Can you tell us the state of the Terran Fleet?" asked Zarek, trying to push the meeting on as quickly as possible. He ignored the looks of both Adamas and Roslin as he continued, "Given to how the last battle went, how many Cylon Basestars could your fleet engage and expect to defeat with total annihilation of the Cylon forces?"

Orion stared at Zarek, a little shocked that that question would be asked so soon into the briefing. "That information is not allowed?" he turned to Apollo, unsure of the word.

"Classified."

"I can not reveal the size of the Terran fleet to a you without the approval of my commanding officer, or someone of equal rank."

"What about the pilot in our sickbay? I'm sure she can be persuaded to give us the answers we require."

Before anyone else could react Orion has reached across the table and grabbed Zarek by the neck. As he spoke he slowly increased the pressure on the man's neck. "I suggest, mister Vice-President, that you never even think about doing such a thing again. Or it will be the last thing you ever do." Zarek stared into Orion's eyes and saw the same ruthless determination he'd seen in himself in his younger days.

Zarek smiled as he raised his arms in surrender, "I apologise lieutenant for my comment. It was out of line."

Orion released Zarek and sat back down, noticing that the two marines now stood much closer than before. "Apology accepted." He turned back to Roslin and Adama. "Ok, my turn. What are the Cylons?"

Roslin gave Adama the faintest of nods before he answered. "They were created over fifty years ago to make life easier for the people of the twelve colonies but the rebelled. The first war lasted for over a decade before the Cylons signed and peace treaty and disappeared into deep space. Nearly three years ago they returned and destroyed our home-worlds. All we have left is this fleet."

"We've been searching for Earth for nearly three years now," continued Roslin. "Until we met you we've just been holding onto the slim hope that Earth was more than just a myth." See gave Orion a warm, motherly smile, "Now, you and your crewmates have brought hope to our people, and proof that what we are searching for really exists."

"So you're refugees?"

Roslin gave a gentle nod, "Yes, we're hoping that we'll find refuge and a new home on Earth."

"Actually, "started Adama, changing the course of the discussion. "I have a few questions for you."

"Shoot,"

"What can you tell me about your government?"

"Well, there are seven major blocs on Earth itself but I'll leave them till another time." Orion paused as he thought through how best to explain the Terran governmental system.

"All things that are non-Earth related, with the exception of the oldest colonies, are controlled by the United Terran Government. It handles all off-world work, from research and development to exploration and mining.

"The Terran Defence Force handles all military and police operations between the colonies. All commercial traffic is handled by another branch of the government. We still have problems with pirates, but apart from that there hasn't been a major conflict between nation-states in fifty years."

"You mean that you still fight amongst yourselves?" asked Apollo, a little disbelievingly.

"No, well yes, but that war was over a new power source that my people had recently discovered, though the war didn't end as you'd expect." Orion paused, unsure just how much to share with these people, before deciding to turn the conversation around. "I'd like to know something about your history now, if that's ok?"

"Of course, "answered Roslin. "We're quite happy to tell you about the history of our people."

"Without giving away any classified data."

Roslin smiled, "What would you like to know?" she asked, ignoring Adama's comment.

"Well, a little about your history would be nice, like when did you come to like on the Twelve Colonies?"

"Our people first came arrived there about three thousand six hundred years ago."

"From Earth?"

"No, they came from the home-world of humanity, Kobol."

"I'm sorry, where?" asked a confused Orion. "Earth is the home-world of humanity."

"Our scriptures say that the Lords of Kobol walked amongst our people for thousands of years on Kobol, then during the First Exodus, thirteen caravans left Kobol. The first left early and found Earth, the rest left at the end, and eventually settled on the Twelve Colonies."

"How old are the scripture? Do they say when people of this from evolved on Kobol?"

"The scriptures date back over twenty thousand years but they make no reference to when our species can into existence." Roslin looked at Orion intently, scared to ask a question that was creeping around her head but determined to find out the answer anyway. "How old is the evidence for humanity on Earth?"

"For this form about fifty thousand years, but previous evolutions of our species go back over two hundred thousand years."

"That's not possible!" remarked Apollo, "Our beliefs are based on the fact we came from Kobol. I suggest that our beliefs are wrong, is, is……"

"Troubling, to say the least, "finished Adama. "This can not be discussed with anyone outside this room, is that understood." All present gave their consent, though Orion was still a little unsure as to why.

"Admiral, the Cylons are a little disturbing to me and the other survivors. Have they always been able to bleed?"

Adam shook his head slightly, "No, that seems to have been a recent development, though we're sure they've been trying for over forty years to made bio-synthetic Cylons?" he noticed the strange look from Orion and explained himself. "They can now mimic Human form. We think there are twelve models but we've only ever seen seven of them."

Orion thought quietly to himself about something he remembered from his history lessons back at High School, "Can you show me any pictures of the older Cylon models?"

Roslin turned to Zarek, who handed her a pamphlet, as Adama and Apollo suddenly shared a look, worried of just what this could mean.

Orion took the pamphlet and the colonials watched as his face turned from curiosity to concern to out-right dread.

"Is everything alright Lieutenant?" asked Adama, though he suddenly had a bad feeling in his gut about the answer.

"No sir," started Orion as he placed the pamphlet down on the table, opened to show the old Cylon Raiders and Basestars. "I mentioned earlier that the last war on Earth ended as you'd expect."

"Yes, though I'm still not sure what you mean by that," said Roslin. "I thought most wars had a slight winner, though everyone really loses in war."

"That's true most of the time," started Orion. "But the Solar War, as we call it, was ended when three unknown ships, of a size never before seen by any Terran, appeared suddenly near the orbit of our moon. Those three ships launched over a thousand fighter-craft, along with capital weapons far more powerful than anything we had, at all the different fleets of Earth.

"It was only because of intervention of my grandfather and a Captain Wang that we were able to destroy their carrier ships and save the Earth."

"Those ships," started Apollo as everyone looked down at the pamphlet on the table.

"Were Cylon Basestars!" finished a shocked and thoroughly disturbed Adama.

"Correct. The Cylons aren't searching for Earth." Orion stated, "They've already been there."


	4. 3

- - for Terran Speech

" " for Colonial Speech

Sorry 'bout the delay, just lost the will to write for a while.

I hope now I'll get back into this regularly and get Ep 2 finished in the next couple of months.

3.

* * *

**Galactica: Starboard Hanger Bay**

-How is she?- Dragon asked as he watched as Showboat was helped down onto a bed.

Walters looked up from his computer, -She's showing the same symptoms as the others in the first stage of infection. Thankfully, I've been able to identify the virus in question.-

-So you can cure them?-

-Hopefully, it's a variant of influenza.-

-But the flu was eradicated on Earth about a hundred years ago.- stated a slightly confused Dragon.

-That's not entirely true.- Walters pressed a few buttons on his computer and another blood sample popped onto the screen. -This is your sample and the virus is still here, only now it's dormant. The rampant genetic manipulations done last century altered our basic body chemistry enough to allow our bodies to easily control the virus.-

-So when we opened the airlock here, the virus just jumped over to them.-

Walters nodded slightly as he pulled back up a colonial sample. -Essentially yes, but it look's like the virus has bonded with lymphocytic encephalitis so it's a little harder to track it.-

-Lympho-what?-

-It's a virus carried by rats. Normally it's not even found in humans but somehow these people are carriers of it. Don't ask me why, that's way out of my pay-grade.-

-OK, once you find out anything let me know.- stated Dragon as he started to walk back to over to were the other survivors of the _Atlantis_ were gathered. He could see the fear beginning to creep onto their faces as they realised that their only hope for ever getting home lay with the crew of the _Galactica_ who were starting to die because of them.

The faces of the Colonials not bed-ridden by this plague were just as easy to read but far more worrying. They were angry and that anger was directed at Dragon and his fellow survivors. Just after this fleet had found proof that Earth really existed, these brave men and women now were on death's door because of their savours. Dragon found it very hard to imagine what they were going through, though it was probably similar to what his fellow crewmates were feeling.

He swung a glance over at Shockwave and Stavros who were still trying to establish an easy method of conversation with Tyrol and one of the pilots. While Stavros was starting to get the hang of working out the variances between Colonial and ancient Latin, the computer was just as reliable as ever. Dragon remembered that Tigh had withdrawn to one of the nearby maintenance rooms. Taking one last look around the bay, and trying not to think too much on the looks being given by both crews, he headed over to the maintenance room to see what Tigh was up to.

* * *

**GALACTICA: Conference Room Security Station**

Given what he was seeing but not hearing, Helo knew that the meeting in the conference room had taken a turn for the worse in some way but he found that while was meant to be watching the security screens, he was more concerned and interested in the woman to his right. She was staring intently at the screens, continuously changing which camera shot was displayed on the main monitor in vain attempt to find a view that provided her with a clear view of the Terran officer's face.

"Starbuck, you ok?" he asked, worried about her as she hadn't responded to any outside stimuli since entering the security room. He looked at the two marines who were standing at the hatch. "Sergeant, did she say anything while you were bringing her here?"

The sergeant give a slight shake of her head as she answered. "No sir, she's been like that since the meeting began."

Helo sighed slightly and turned back to Starbuck, "Kara is everything alright?" he gently placed his hand on her shoulder and tried to ease her away from the displays. "Kara, what's wrong?"

"I need to be sure."

"Of what?"

She turned to look at him briefly before looking down at the floor and, in that split-second, he saw something in her eyes that worried him immensely. She was worried and scared, and that frightened him more than anything he'd ever known.

He gently placed his free hand on her other shoulder and stooped down so he could make eye contact. "Kara, you need to be sure of what?"

Her haunted eyes stared back up at him, "That he is bridge."

"The bridge to where?" Kara turned to look at the guards the monitors. "Kara, the bridge to where?"

"I need to see him." Before Helo could say anything to stop her, she had shoved him into the guards at the door, and while they were busy trying to un-tangle them-selves, she had vaulted over them and shot out through the door, and made set off at full speed for the conference room.

"Kara!!" Helo watched as she ignored his scream and ran around the corner. Quickly pulling himself free from the guards he turned and looked at the monitors. The Terran guest wasn't there, meaning he was in the corridor, giving Starbuck an easy opportunity to get hold of him.

Helo cursed under his breath as he grabbed the com-unit.

"CIC," before the system routed his call through Helo slammed down the phone. Not that many of the crew knew that Starbuck was alive and fewer still knew she was out of the brig. All it would take would be for one crewmember to see her and, thinking she was a Cylon, shoot her down.

Helo turned to the marines, "I want you two to get to the infirmary. If Starbuck can't get our mobile guest then that's where she'll head." The Sergeant nodded before taking of a quick jog down the corridor. Helo took one last glance back at the security monitors before he turned and raced after Starbuck, hoping he could keep her out of trouble this one time.

* * *

**GALACTICA: Conference Room**

Adama looked down at his glass as he gently swirled the water inside. Everything they'd just heard told him that there would be a lot to sort out once the fleet reached Earth but, at least they had a real destination now as opposed to a wing and a prayer.

He glanced up at Roslin and Zarek who were also contemplating what they'd just been told. While he was more interested in the limited information they'd managed to get about the Terran fleet, and it sounded impressive if a little small by Colonial standards, he was sure Roslin was more concerned about the religion, or should that be religions, of Earth. He was sure she was trying to figure out how to tell the Gemenese and Sagittarons that Earth's major religions had more in common with the Cylon beliefs then those of the Colonies.

Still, all that paled in comparison to the bomb that had exploded inside everyone when it was realised that the Cylons had been to Earth. He decided to talk to Athena and have Tigh interrogate the Six about the Final Five.

"What if the Final Five are trying to protect Earth?" he thought to himself.

"Admiral?" he looked at Roslin and noticed the look of shock and confusion on her face. "They're trying to protect Earth?"

Adam tried to hide the grimace as he realised he'd done more than think about the question. "Sorry, I was just thinking loud. Don't give it any thought."

No," interrupted Zarek, an idea suddenly forming in his mind, "no, you may be on to something. What little we know about these Final Five suggests that they opposed the destruction of the Colonies but maybe there's more to it than that. What if, What If, they actually wanted to live in harmony with us but were unable to persuade their brethren from attacking the Colonies?"

"Maybe they grabbed onto the idea of Earth," continued Roslin, seeing where Zarek was going with his idea, "and took it, like we did, as a chance to start again. And they were able to find Earth."

"So why did they attack then?" asked Zarek, deflating his own bubble, "that's the part I can't figure out."

"To unify the planet," stated Adama as he nonchalantly took a sip of his water. "Orion said that Earth was, not that long ago, split up into different coalitions. By attacking them, during a war no-less, the Five used their own defeat as a way to solidify Earth for when either the other Cylons or ourselves came looking."

Roslin nodded slightly as she pondered the idea. "Yes, that's a definite possibility. If they knew that the Cylons weren't going to come looking for Earth in the near future, and given that the Colonies were totally uninterested in proving Earth was real, then the Five could afford to use a long-term plan to prepare Earth for what was going to happen."

"So if the Final Five did attack Earth for that very reason, are you saying that all five models will be on Earth now?" asked Zarek.

"That seems, a little unlikely," said Adama as he looked up from his glass. "It's much more likely that …." Adama stopped in mid-sentence at the room com-unit rang.

"Adama," he said as he placed the receiver to his ear. Roslin and Zarek, watched as Adama's expression turned from one of mild annoyance, to one of pure irritation.

"What's wrong?" asked Roslin as Adam placed down the receiver.

Adama turned and faced Roslin before making a beeline for the door. He could be heard muttering one word as he walked past Roslin and Zarek, "Starbuck."

* * *

**Galactica: Corridor Near The Conference Room**

Apollo stared back at the giant bulkhead door as it was closed behind him. He turned at stared at Orion ash he stared to re-play the meeting in his mind.

The idea that the Cylons had already been to Earth as both worrying and confusing, if they had already been there then why were they looking for it and why did they only attack once, over forty years ago by the Terran calendar.

"Orion," he waited till the Terran had stopped and turned around before continuing, "It's only just occurred to me but, how do your people measure time?"

Orion smiled slightly at the question, "Strange, it's taken us what, four hours, to finally realise to even think about the little differences between our people?"

Apollo chuckled as he thought about that. "Yeah, I guess it just slipped through the cracks." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the watch that Garner had left with him and laid it down on a nearby container. He found himself thinking of that day even as Orion stared at the watch and timed the ticks made by it.

"Well this is interesting." Orion's statement drew Apollo back to the present. "It looks like our basic unit of time is identical. Sixty ticks equals one other tick, sixty outer ticks completes one rotation and how many rotations in one day?"

"Twenty-four. The ticks are called seconds, next are the minutes and a rotation is called an hour."

"How many days in a planetary rotation?"

Apollo paused as he tried to remember each planet's particular calendar. "Each of the colonies had its own calendar but the calendar for Kobol, which was almost identical to that of Caprica, our capital planet, marked one year as three hundred and eighty-four days"

Orion whistled as he ran though the figures in his head, "Would you believe Earth has the same timing system for everything except the year, Earth stands at three hundred and sixty-five days, which makes me about two years younger by your calendar than mine."

"I'm guessing that's gonna make your female crew members happy." remarked Apollo, drawing a laugh from everyone except the female marine.

The joke had barely had time to settle when a thundering crash could be heard from just down the corridor. The marines immediately took defensive positions facing towards the noise as Apollo stared to push Orion back towards the conference room.

Orion saw a female pilot come thundering round the corner, the marines froze, as though they were looking at a ghost, before she crashed headlong into them, causing both marines and the female to crash to the ground in a heap.

"Starbuck, what are you doing here?" asked a concerned Apollo as he turned towards his friend.

Starbuck tried to untangle herself from the marines but, even though they were also lying on the floor, "I need to see him Apollo."

"Why is he so important to you?" he asked, as he begun to doubt his father's logic on letting her out. "What does he represent?"

Starbuck stared up at him, he eyes seemingly staring right into his soul, "I need to know if he is the bridge."

"What?" asked a startled Orion, "What did you say?"

Starbuck stared at the human in the flight-suit, "I need to know if you are the Bridge."

Orion stared at her, lost in his thoughts, as he remembered something he had thought was just a bad dream. "Aurora? Are you her?"

Starbuck stared at Orion in disbelief, "How could you know that? You must be him."

"He must be who?" everyone turned to face Roslin as she and Adama came into sight. "Who is he?"

Starbuck stared at Adama, totally unsure of how to handle this situation, now that her adrenaline had died down, she was realising that this was probably not the way she should have handled it but it was probably they way Adama expected her to.

Adama gave her a wry grin as he looked at each person in turn. "I think it would be best if we continued this in the conference room." he said. He turned and started back towards the room, knowing that everyone would follow out of curiosity.

* * *

**GALACTICA: Conference Room**

Orion stared at Starbuck as she sat across from him. He couldn't believe he was looking at her, again.

"Lieutenant," Orion turned to face Adama, "You said you've seen Starbuck before?"

Orion nodded, still in disbelief at how this was even possible. "Yes, but you're not going to believe me."

Adama shared a smile with Starbuck, much to Roslin and Apollo's annoyance, "You'd be surprised,"

"Ok, here goes."

* * *

**Three Years Ago: In Orbit Above Mars**

The small fighter turned away for the stellar buoy and swooped down into the atmosphere of the planet below at an alarming speed.

"_Cobra zero-zero-two_, you are going too fast, pull up now. That's an order Orion."

Orion groaned slightly as he heard the order come over the speakers. "Roger control, increasing decent angle. No problems reported by the computer so it can take it. Why do you worry so much control?"

A sigh could be heard on the other end of the comm channel. "Because that little ship you're flying cost several billion to build. If this test fails we'll have to wait another year before we can try to convince the admiralty again. Just because you're the Fleet Admiral's grandson doesn't make you special."

Orion laughed gently at the comment. "You still think that's why I'm flying the test flight and not you Ranger?" Before Ranger could answer an alarm sounded in the cockpit of _Cobra zero-zero-two_. "Control, my scanners have detected an unknown bogey, zero-eight-four mark zero-nine-three."

"Checking your data-stream, we're seeing it here as well. Strange, the base scanners can't detect it."

Orion pressed some buttons in his cockpit but the scanner contact remained. "Could it be a sensor glitch?"

"Might be, just ignore it for now," replied from Ranger. "We're launching a combat patrol to investigate. Continue on to target Alpha."

"Roger control, setting course for Mount Olympus." _Cobra zero-zero-two_ banked hard and swooped down towards the dusty surface of the planet. Soon one mountain began to dominate Orions' forward view.

"The interceptors can't find your bogey." Ranger reported, several minutes later. "Guess it's just a glitch after all. We'll have a look at the scanner program after the test flight."

"Acknowledged control, beginning attack run now." _Cobra zero-zero-two_ began to increase its' speed as it neared the base of the mountain. The distance between the fighter and the first target closed rapidly.

"Alpha target in range." reported Orion. "Missile is away." The missile shot from _Cobra zero-zero-two_ and struck Alpha target.

"Dead centre, excellent shot Orion. Proceed to Beta target."

"Acknowledged control, moving to Beta target." suddenly another alarm sounded. "Scanners show the bogey is back. Bearing zero-zero-two, mark zero-four-six. Range, fifty klicks and closing fast."

"It's just another glitch, ignore it."

Orion strained to see if anything was actually there. "Control, it's not a glitch. I'm seeing the target now, moving to intercept."

"Belay that Orion, we don't have anything on the scanners here. Continue onto your next target." Orion watched as the alien contact turned and shot past him.

He glanced down at his scanner to see where it had gone. "Target is now behind me, trying to shake him now." Orion dropped his fighter down till he was almost touching the surface of the planet. He engaged his afterburners and pushed the small ship beyond the design limits in an attempt to lose the fighter behind him.

"Orion pull up now, that is a direct order. The _Cobra _was never designed to be pushed this hard. If you keep it up you'll crash and burn."

Orion ignored control and focused on his scanner and what he could see in front of him. No matter what he tried the bogey stayed behind him. "Control, whoever this is, they're good. I can't out-run or out-manoeuvre him, going to try something else so I can get a good look at him."

Orion went vertical and, once he was sure the bogey was still following, he simultaneously flipped his fighter upside down and jammed on the air-brakes. He watched as the bogey flew past and its' pilot waved at him as it did. The features were unmistakably human and female. He could see her blue eyes clearly. She almost seemed to be laughing at him, and yet, she looked almost serene as she flew.

"Orion, report!!" screamed the voice of Ranger back at Control.

Orion engaged his afterburners again and tried to follow the bogey. "Control, bogey is human, female and she's playing with me. I'm at full burn now and I can't even keep up. Her ship is smaller than mine but it's faster and more manoeuvrable. It's got to be a dog-fighter."

"Orion, slow down, whatever it is we've finally got it on scanners now. Interceptors will be in weapons range in ten seconds. Just keep track of it."

"Roger control." Orion tried his best to follow the smaller ship but he began to rapidly lose it when they ducked into a canyon.

"Interceptors, have a lock. You've got inbound missiles so pull out of there." Before Orion got a chance to comply the bogey spun round a corner and disappeared from Orion's scanners.

"Control, it's gone."

"What do you mean gone?"

Orion frantically scanned the canyon looking for any sign of wreckage. "As in vanished, one second it was there, the next it wasn't. I've got no debris anywhere. Suggest having the interceptors carry out a detailed scan."

"Ok, they're on their way but you're ordered to return to base ASAP."

"What's up?"

"Don't know, but this comes straight from Admiral Jackson."

Orion nodded, more out of habit than anything else. "Roger control, _Cobra zero-zero-two_ is returning to base."

Orion turned _Cobra zero-zero-two_ around and started back to base.

As the test facility came into sight Orion began to feel a massive headache as his small fighter was bathed in a glorious white light. "Control, Orion, I've got some kind of energy reading bearing one-eight-zero. Range," he paused as he re-checked his readings. "Range is less than two klicks. Time to intercept is less than ten seconds."

"Orion, we see it too." came the concerned voice of Ranger over the com-link. "Get out of ………." The signal was drowned out as the light overloaded the sensors on the small craft and Orion lost consciousness as his headache became too much for his brain to handle.


	5. 4

Sorry about the delays, had probs here and only just got back into writing.

4.

* * *

**Galactica: Starboard Hanger Bay: Maintenance Room Four**

Dragon took another careful slip from his cup. Near as he could tell it was some kind of moonshine.

'_Guessing they don't have any good stuff left_' he thought to himself. He stared across at Tigh, the _Galactica's_ XO seemed to be enjoying his drink a little too much but, given everything that was happening, Dragon wasn't too surprised or concerned.

There was a rap at the door, -Dragon, you in there?-

Dragon handed his cup back to Tigh, who quickly placed them beside the still, and opened the door. He found Shockwave shifting uneasy from one foot to the next as he waited.

-You, ok?- asked Dragon as Tigh closed the door behind him, -You look like someone just stood on your grave.-

Shockwave gave him a very nervous smile, -You might say that, Walters have found something.-

Without waiting for a reply, Shockwave turned and walked over to where Walters had set up a make-shift research station.

Dragon turned and shrugged at Tigh before indicating he thought it would be a good idea for the colonel to have a look-see as well.

**

* * *

Galactica: Conference Room**

"You're telling me that you met Starbuck there nearly three years ago?"

Orion tried to hide a smile at the disbelieving looks he was getting from the Colonials. He remembered getting the same looks from everyone at the Phobos Research Centre when he'd told them. Well almost everyone, Admiral Jackson had believed him almost immediately, much to his surprise.

"Lieutenant?" Orion snapped out of the memory as Adama spoke, "Are you ok?"

"Yes," he replied quickly, "Just remembering how my people reacted when I told them."

"Ok, we'll stop whenever you want too." Stated Roslin, knowing that if they pushed they risked angering their only means of communication with the Terrans. "Can you tell us exactly how many days it's been since you saw Lieutenant Thrace over the Red Planet."

"One thousand, one hundred and fifty, I think." Orion watched as every Colonial did the maths in their heads and all seemed to be very disturbed by the number of days.

"Admiral, how many days?" asked Zarek, seemingly scared to hear the answer.

Adama sighed and gently rubbed the bridge of his nose before he answered, "The three year anniversary of the destruction of the colonies will be four days."

"So you're saying," started Apollo, "that Starbuck was seen by Orion on Earth."

"Mars actually," interrupted Orion. "The training range is on the planet Mars near Mount Olympus."

"The home of the Lords?" asked a now thoroughly shell-shocked Roslin, "You're telling me that Starbuck appeared to you, at the home of the Lords of Kobol, on the exact day that the Cylons returned to attack the twelve Colonies?"

Orion gave her a sheepish shrug, "If you say so."

Everyone sat in silence as they tried to digest the significance of these two events happening simultaneously while being thousands of light years apart.

The comm-unit bleeped and Helo, almost sleep-walking, stood and answered it. "Conference room," he paused as messages were delivered before turning back to Adama and Roslin. "That was CIC, they said that the Terran female is now awake," he barely finished relaying the first message before Orion was heading towards the door, "And Cottle and the Earth doctor have found a cure."

Adama stood, trying his best not to be any further stunned than he was already and turned to face Orion, "I'm sending Apollo and Starbuck with you to the infirmary."

Orion stood and gave Adama a quick salute, though he didn't wait to be dismissed, before turning and bolted out of the conference room. Apollo and Starbuck waited momentarily, until Adam gave them a nod to go, before taking off after him.

"What about the cure?" asked Roslin.

Adama looked down at her, "We'll handle that in my quarters. Helo, head up to CIC and take control."

Helo saluted and left, followed quickly by Zarek who had worked out he wasn't welcome, as Roslin stood and rubbed her temples, "Well, this has certainly been a long day."

"It's about to get longer," replied Adama ominously.

* * *

**Galactica: Starboard Hanger Bay**

Tigh followed the Terran pilots across the hanger bay. Dragon seemed to be getting increasingly more concerned with every word that the other pilot said.

He glanced over at the number of the crew who were now either on one of the make-shift beds or sitting nearby and watched as the medics pulled a sheet over another pilot who had just lost his fight with the disease.

"Colonel," started Showboat as he walked up to the gathered group of Colonials and Terrans. "It looks like their doctor has found a cure."

"Well it's about time." remarked Tigh as he looked at the concerned or nervous faces of the assembled, "What's with the long faces? Shouldn't we be happy that we found a cure?"

"It's where the cure comes from that's the problem."

"You're damm right we have a problem!" stated Cottle walk over from the Terran computer shaking his head. "It's were the cure comes from."

Tight waited for an answered as Cottle huffed, "Well…"

"It's from the Cylons!" stated Cottle with just enough volume for Tigh to hear but still full of anger and frustration.

"How the hell did they get hold of Cylon blood?" asked Tigh, though he was already sure of the answer.

"From a Cylon, how else!" Cottle was really starting to get angry. "It seems that Ensign Anders is a Cylon!"

"No frakking way!" shrieked Showboat. "You're telling us that Starbuck's husband is a Cylon?!"

Cottle nodded, "Yep. If this wasn't serious I'd probably find it funny. Hell, give me a week and I just might." He went to reach into his pocket only to hit against the hazmat suit. "Dammit! I could really do with a smoke right now!"

"Have you spoken to Anders yet?" asked Tigh, running through half-a-dozen scenarios in his mind.

Cottle shook his head, "Not yet. It seems that the plague is affecting him just like the rest of us but it seems to be working slower. That's what made us run an analysis of his blood." He lashed out and kicked a nearby bucket, "He's been here for two years and been spying on us for all that time and no-one even suspected."

"I don't think so," started Showboat. "I've spent time talking to Athena and according to her the Final Five had some kind of 'difference of opinion' with their brothers and sisters regarding how to deal with us. She seems to think that the Five actually want to help us."

"So why didn't he come forward earlier then?"

"And get air-locked? Would you if that was the most likely outcome?"

Cottle cooled of slightly as he contemplated the idea, "No, I guess I wouldn't have come forwards either. So Colonel what do we do about our new Cylon guest?"

Tigh hid his worries as he started to walk over to the Terran contingent, "First you explain this miracle cure to me then I'll let the admiral know."

**

* * *

Galactica: Medical Bay**

Artemis struggled against her restraints. She had no idea where she actually was but she wasn't on the _Atlantis_. She watched as three new people entered to the medical bay. Two stopped to talk with the woman in white who had been watching her for the last ten minutes or so, while the third, who for some reason was in some kind of flight-suit, headed towards the door for her isolated room.

She struggled as she watched this figure enter the quarantine airlock and disappear from view. Her eyes started to shoot back and forth between the door and the three people who were standing outside watching her. She tried to work out what they were saying but their voices weren't carrying into her room and the writing she could see on the airlock door was total gibberish.

The door hissed as the air inside the airlock was changed from that outside to hers. She struggled anew, terrified of who was about to come through the door. She watched in terror as the door opened slowly and a hand crept out to push it open further.

-I can't leave you alone for a minute now can I?- Artemis stared at Orion in total shock, much to his amusement. –Now this brings back memories.- he said as his eyes travelled up her body.

-What the hell is going on?- she screamed, trying not to blush at the memory in question. –Where in hell are we?-

Orion crossed the short distance to her bed and pulled up a chair as he casually sat down beside her, -Currently we're in the medical bay of the _Battlestar_ _Galactica_, though you're tied to a bed.- he reached down to undo her restraints even as the name clicked in her head.

-The alien starship?- he nodded as she looked at the three people who were watching them, -They really are human?-

-You doubted me?- he asked as he untied the last restraint.

She rubbed her wrists to get the blood flowing again, -Well there was that one time in Paris….-

-Not my fault!- he said quickly, -the transport really did break down.-

She smiled, which made him feel better, both professionally and personally, -I know but I'm gonna keep teasing you about it for the rest of your live.-

He smiled back at her, -nice to know you still think of me.-

She laughed for a second, until the pain in her chest told her not to. As soon as she grimaced he was reaching for her but she abruptly pushed away his hands. –What about the _Atlantis_?- she asked hopefully.

His glace away told her all she needed to know. –How many?-

He turned back to face her as he answered, -One shuttle and about one squadron.- He knew what the next question was going to be even as he hoped she wouldn't ask.

-The admiral?-

He started to reach for her even as he answered, -I'm sorry.-

She stared straight ahead, not even acknowledging him, as she tried to come to terms with the fact that her father was dead. Orion sat beside her, waiting on her response as he pondered how to broach the next point that he needed to tell her.

He fumbled the pamphlet that he'd managed to slip into his flight-suit at the end of his meeting with Adama and Roslin. While the attackers now had a name and a reason for their attack forty years ago, that wasn't what bothered him.

-What is it?-

He looked up from the pamphlet to stare at her, -Nothing, just thinking about what we do now.-

She stared at him for a second before looking down at the pamphlet, -What is it?- she asked again.

He sighed, she always had known when he was lying and it seemed time hadn't made him any better at lying to her. He slowly agonizingly passed the pamphlet to her, -I'll start at the beginning.-

---

Outside the isolation chamber, Apollo and Starbuck watched the interaction between Orion and Artemis.

"She seems really upset over something," remarked Starbuck. "I didn't expect her to take the loss of her ship so badly."

"It hurts to lose the ship you've called home without being there to help."

Starbuck turned to face him, "Sorry, didn't mean it like that."

He sighed softly, thinking of the two Battlestars he'd lived on which both had been destroyed by the Cylons. At least the _Pegasus_ had gone down fighting. "It's not that that has her upset," he said as he turned to face Starbuck. "Her father was their Admiral."

"Gods! I don't what I'd do if we lost the old man." She turned back at stared at the two Terran pilots. "He seems to be a little too concerned about her, any idea why?"

Apollo shook his head slightly, "I'm guessing their just close friends."

"He loves her." Both Apollo and Starbuck turned to face the nurse who was on duty; someone they'd both forgotten was standing nearby.

"What makes you say that?"

The nurse pointed to the Terrans, "Look at how he's resting his hand. It's not how you consol a friend. It's how you support a lover."

The pilots stared back at their counterparts and began to notice the clear signs of former lovers supporting each other.

"A pilot in love with their CAG, how strange is that?" remarked the nurse, trying not to look at her superiors.

Apollo and Starbuck just stared ahead, both trying not to look at each other as the nurse walked away fighting the urge to giggle.

**

* * *

Galactica: Adama's Quarters**

Adama waited as the call was routed through.

"Admiral?" asked a nervous sounding Tigh.

"You've found a cure?" Roslin raised an eyebrow at the directness of his question, which drew a sharp, but short, smile from Adama.

"Yes sir." Tigh paused, Adama could make out the sounds of Tigh talking to someone else but couldn't quite pick up. "Though there are some complications."

"Such as?" Adama raised an eyebrow as he looked over at Roslin. He knew Tigh was holding something back but he wasn't sure what.

"The cure has been found in Anders' blood-work."

"Anders?"

"Yes sir," Tigh paused, trying to draw up the strength for what he was about to reveal. "Anders is a Cylon."

"A Cylon?" Adama heard Roslin gasp as he felt his own head spinning with the idea that Starbuck's husband was a Cylon.

"Yes Sir. Cottle's going to run some tests of his own but I know it's the truth."

"And how do you know that?" Adama felt like he was walking into a trap but knew he had to ask.

"I know because I'm also a Cylon." Tigh waited for a response but Adama was quiet. "Bill? I said I'm a Cylon."

"This is not the time for jokes Saul."

"I'm not joking Bill! I'm a frakking Cylon!!!" Adama dropped the receiver and collapsed back into his seat.

Roslin stared over at him and watched the life drain from his face. "Admiral? Admiral? Bill?" he barely lifted his head when she said his name but it was something. "Bill, what did he say?"

"He said that he's a Cylon."

"He said….." Roslin trailed off as the idea ran through her head. Saul Tigh a Cylon? She couldn't wrap her mind around the idea. Tigh had led the resistance with her and Tyrol on New Caprica. If he was a Cylon then why hadn't he turned on them before now?

While she personally didn't particularly like the Colonel, she knew that he would never betray Adama. Then again, they'd all thought the same of Boomer up until she had nearly killed the then Commander.

She looked at Adama, his eyes seemed almost lifeless. If she hadn't been there Gods only knows what he might have done.

She reached across the desk and picked up the receiver, "Colonel, are you sure that you are Cylon?"

"Yes ma'am."

"One of Final Five?"

"Yes."

Roslin looked over at Adama as she chose her words extremely carefully, "Colonel, When did you learn that you were a Cylon?"

"At the Ionian Nebula. Just before then I'd been hearing some strange sounds. I thought it was a Cylon trap in the ship but it seems to have been an activation command."

"Who are the others?"

"Besides Anders I will not reveal their names at the present time."

"Oh," even though he was not there she still took off her glasses and gave the wall her school-teacher stare. "And why not?"

"I'd rather wait until this crisis is over then I will tell you in person. All I ask is that whatever punishment you decide upon that the others will not be thrown out of an airlock."

"And why should I give you that promise?"

"Because I trust Bill and he trusts you."

"A strange choice of words Colonel, but I will at least consider not spacing them. That's the best you're going to get at this particular time."

"Then it'll have to do." There was a pause as Tigh talked again to someone in the hanger bay. "As much as I'm enjoying this conversation Madam President, it seems that something else has come up."

Before Roslin could reply the line went dead. She started to shout down the line but quickly realised that it would do her no good and might even hurt Bill further.

She placed down the receiver and turned to look at him. He sat morbidly in his chair staring straight ahead, not acknowledging her or anything else in the world.

"Bill? Bill?" she waved her hand in front of his face but still he didn't move. She sighed as she stared down at him.

Suddenly an idea came to her. She grabbed the receiver. "CIC."

"Yes?" came the voice of Dualla.

"The admiral would like to talk to Lieutenant Agathon right away. Have her sent here as soon as possible."

"Yes ma'am." The linked closed and very soon the message was relayed over the ship's intercom.

**

* * *

Galactica: Starboard Hanger Bay**

Dragon closed his eyes as he tried to calm himself.

-Don't you dare give me that expression soldier.- said a voice that was the source of his irritation. -I am your superior officer and I will be treated as such.-

Dragon opened his eyes and stared at the annoying bureaucrat in front of him.

Ambassador Santigao Gomes had been forced onto the _Atlantis_ by members of the government who felt that the military should not be allowed to be in-charge of any possible first contact situations.

While Orion and a couple of other pilots had been trained on how to handle the initial first contacts, these politicians had felt that a seasoned diplomat should be sent with the crew just in case.

To further the current problem, it had been decided that Gomes should be given the rank of Lieutenant Commander, meaning that he outranked all of the survivors with the exception of Artemis and, unfortunately, she wasn't here meaning the Gomes was trying to boss his way around.

-Lieutenant, I demand that you explain to these people that I am to be allowed out to speak to their leadership!-

-Sir,- started an increasingly agitated Shockwave, who was trying to help Dragon deal with Gomes, -as we have already told you, this hanger bay is under quarantine.-

-But none of us are currently sick so why are we being held here?-

-Because almost all of their crew here is currently infected with some kind of virus.-

-Well I don't care anything about that. You will inform them that I am to be allowed out to speak to their leaders.-

-Don't you get it?- started Dragon, his volume and anger rising with each word. –We gave them this plague! They've already had several crew members die because of it and until a cure is found, no-one is allowed out of this bay.-

-Except Lieutenant MacLeod,- stated Gomes, realising he found a hole in Dragon's argument and decided to push. –I heard some of the other pilots talking about him and your CAG, Artemis I believe, being on another part of the ship.-

-That's because….-

-I don't care about your excuses!- Gomes said, cutting of Dragon in mid-defence. –All I want is to get off this hanger deck and talk to their leaders.-

Dragon started to reply before an idea came into his mind. He tried not to smile as he started to speak again, -As you wish _Commander_. One of their senior officers is actually in this bay. I'm sure if you ask him nicely he'll be able to grant your request.-

Gomes smiled, thinking he'd been able to dominate the young pilot. –Excellent, I knew you'd see things clearly with a little persuasion.- He straightened his suit as he started to walk towards the Colonials, -Now who is this person?-

Dragon followed just behind Gomes to prevent the man from seeing the smile that was starting to creep over his lips. –His name is Tigh; I think he is one of their senior officers.-

-Excellent. Is there anything you could tell me that would be useful in persuading him to see things my way?-

-Oh yes sir. I've found that if you insult his wife he'll give you exactly what you need.-

-His wife you say? I must remember that.-


End file.
